Home
Bike Reviews
Honda FX 650 Vigor Review
Review Date Nov 2016
By Bob Northern
- Dry Weight 161 kg
- Type Air Cooled 4 Stroke SOHC Single
- Bore x Stroke 100 x 82 mm
- Displacement 644 cc
- No. of Valves 4
- Red line RPM 6750
- Max Torque 40 lb-ft
- Max Power Output 39 bhp
- Tyre Front 100/90-19 Tubed
- Tyre Rear 120/90-S17 Tubed
It is worth discussing each of the vital statistics as it has a direct effect on the character of the bike and hence my liking for it.
Dry weight. 161kg is in this day and age very light, less than a Suzuki Inazuma 250 or Kawasaki Versys 300 for example. Modern bikes are getting bigger and heavier for some reason. This is counter-productive on many fronts for example fuel economy (offset somewhat by FI), handling, performance, man-handling around the garage, tyre and consumable wear. I’d prefer it if the Vigor weighed 15KG less but it has a steel frame and it’s just about pared back to the minimum possible.
Type – Air Cooled 4 Stoke SOHC Single. Air cooled means simple with no water jacket or radiator and this saves weight and complexity. SOHC, that means it’s a torque generating engine, not a revvy power generating DOHC.
The bore and stroke is over square like all Japanese bikes. However there’s a 4” piston thumping up and down producing lots of lovely torque and just enough vibration to communicate the engine’s activity to the rider - the bike has a tachometer but it’s not really needed.
Number Of Valves - 4 valves is de-rigour of course, but the way the valves are arranged is not. The Vigor has the unique RFVC head. The flat topped piston compresses the gasses into a hemi-spherical combustion chamber which is filled and emptied by valves arranged on radial axes. On a normal head the inlet valves are parallel to each other and the exhaust valves are parallel to each other. No valve on the RFVC head is parallel to any other; they are arranged like cocktail sticks on a Christingle orange. The unusual arrangement means that the often employed Siamese rocker arms can’t be used, instead Honda used a single cam follower for each valve and each one bears onto a secondary follower, which alters the angle of sweep. It’s the secondary follower that presses onto the valve stem. The obvious question is “why?” - refer to “Max Torque” below.
Red line RPM - very low at 6750 RPM. Again this signals a torque generating engine. In fact there is no point going above 6000 RPM as the power falls off a cliff after 5500 RPM and after that the engine just makes noise and the vibration turns from pleasantly round to unpleasantly spiky.
Max Torque - lovely great gobs of it delivered in shovels from 3800-5500RPM. Like all big singles there is a narrow rev range but 5th gear translates the stated range from 50-80MPH. Peak torque coincides with just under 70MPH so the bike is very responsive at real world speeds. The RFVC engine is a thing alive, it speaks to the rider, it vibrates in a pleasant way, it makes enjoyable chuff chuff noises in the air box when riding along. Not many engines produce more ftlbs than HP so this gives the engine its unique character. Think about a “normal” twin or four cylinder bike; as you rev the engine towards the redline there’s a build in the way the bike pulls. It pulls harder as you approach peak RPM then you select the next gear and the engine looses that hard pull as you have to wait for the revs to build again. This encourages that familiar four cylinder faster, faster, faster style of riding. The Vigor is the exact opposite. As you rev the engine through it starts to pull less hard as the revs rise and when you hook the next gear it pulls harder again. This gives a terrific feeling of “strongness” to the engine and encourages a relaxed riding style, wafting along at the national speed limit on the waves of torque, the engine turning at a relaxed 4000RPM.
Tyres - 19” and 17” perfect trail bike sizes, good on and off road, compromised on both but capable none the less and there’s a good choice of rubber from entirely tarmac based to knobbly bobbly depending on your intended use. I ride off road a lot but I stick with trail bike tyres because I find knobblies horrible on the tarmac.
The bike itself is very simple. A non-vacuum fuel tap feeds fuel through a very short pipe to a single 40mm CV carb. The single spine frame of the Vigor necessitates that the carb exits the head at an angle, the benefit being that the carb is very easy to access. It can be removed in less than 5 minutes at the roadside if necessary.
There’s a CDI, three phase reg/rec and that’s about it for electrics.
The engine is very simple, four screw and locknut tappets and a replaceable paper oil filter are all the maintenance it requires.
The suspension is competent enough. A Showa suspension unit bears on the typical Honda rising rate linkages and controls the movement of the steel box section swing arm. Up front 46mm conventional forks offer reasonable damping and good degree of stiffness. I have found the suspension to be perfectly adequate for touring, scratching (perhaps a little more damping at the rear would be nice), 2-up work and off road, offering as it does more than 8” of travel front and rear. In typical trail bike style the front can feel a little vague when pushing on but leaning forward on the way into the corner weights up the front wheel and counteracts the problem. This also has the added benefit of lowering the centre of gravity.
The brakes are Brembo and work very well, just about right for the bike and rider but if carrying a pillion a little more anticipation is required, unless you’ve got a very strong right forearm. I don’t find any problems with seizing callipers over winter, but then I do wash the callipers down with the hose pipe after every salty ride.
The lubrication system adds a little complexity in that the engine is dry-sump and the oil lives in the frame's front downtube. As for all dry-sump engines the oil level checking routine takes some getting used to. If the bike is left standing for any length of time some oil will drain down through the oil pump and into the engine then checking the dipstick (which lives in the frame) will show a worryingly low oil level. Many owners make the mistake of adding more oil at this point to bring the level back up to full. When the engine is started the primary oil pump draws oil from the frame and sends it around the engine in the expected fashion, but the secondary (or “scavenger”) oil pump also picks up oil from the crankcase and returns it to the tank. There is a further complication in that the scavenger pump doesn't work properly until the oil has warmed to approx 50°C, therefore if our hapless owner checks the oil level having run the engine for only a couple of minutes he will find that the dipstick shows the tank is dangerously empty again! In this way it’s easily possible for someone not familiar to end up adding over a litre of extra oil to the bike. When things warm up and the scavenger pump kicks in, that extra oil comes shooting out left right and centre.
Proper dry-sump husbandry involves checking the oil after a ride and therefore knowing that the level is correct when you next return to the bike.
When refilling the tank after an oil change it’s necessary to use a measuring jug to decant the correct amount of oil (2.1l). Fill the frame tank to the top, it will take about 1.9l, run the engine for 1 minute then add the remaining oil to make up the complete 2.1l.
It sounds like a bit of a chore and compared to just setting the bike level and looking at an oil sight glass (typical for Kawasaki for example) it is, but you soon get used to the routine.
The riding position is very comfortable for taller people, in fact the Vigor is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. I'm 6'2" with long legs and most bikes leave my knees and hips cramped. On the Vigor the pegs are a long way below the saddle and are set forward which adds to the leg room. The saddle is wide and comfortable for all day riding and the bars are set just right for an upright riding position, ideal for green lanes or traffic, not so good for motorways. My sustained cruising speed on motorways is a lazy 60MPH at 4000RPM which is just manageable from an upper body musculature point of view. On a trip to France a few years ago I fitted a touring screen and then 70MPH was easily sustained at 4800 RPM.
Fuel economy rarely dips below 55MPG, I have seen 63MPG on a long (60MPH) motorway run.
The engine should not burn or lose any oil.If oil is disappearing the most likely candidate is exhaust stem seals, often a puff of smoke on start-up will signal the problem. I have seen cases where age rather than mileage has caused the stem seals to harden, requiring replacement. Because of the engine design the seals can be replaced in an afternoon requiring no special tools other than a cheap valve spring compressor.
One area to check when considering purchase is the rear suspension linkages. They are very robust and I have never seen a worn out linkage, however they are also supposed to be serviced and nobody ever does. The result is that usually the bolt that holds the tie bar to the frame and the bolt that holds the rising rate knuckle to the swing arm will be seized in place. There is no point trying to hammer either of these out. It is a relatively simple fix however, it’s quite easy to cut through the bearing sleeves and bolts to free the link and knuckle and new sleeves and bolts are very inexpensive. Once sorted a yearly grease and Coppaslip will see the life of the bike out.
The bike makes a practical all purpose machine. The standard Honda rack on the rear end has a built in carrier for a shackle lock and takes a quick detach top box, a Honda branded box is available. Pillion room is ample and the pillion benefits from good leg room as well although one point to watch for is that the pillion and the rider’s feet can clash if the pillion rests their heels on the pegs. With the top box removed there’s plenty of load space to pack a week’s camping gear across the pillion seat and back rack.
Recommended upgrades include a mud flap for the too-short front mudguard, gaiters for the unprotected forks (why are all modern bikes afflicted with this?) and wrapping a rubber sheet around the shock, which is unprotected from debris and water thrown off the rear tyre. After that it’s just the usual heated grips, scottoiler and Satnav bits.
Riding the Vigor is best done in a relaxed frame of mind. It’s a slugger not a racer. As mentioned like all big singles there is a narrow usable rev-range, however the Vigor with its mild camshaft timing is actually the most flexible carburettor equipped big single I've ridden. Compared to an XF650, F650 or XT600 it is much happier pulling from lower RPM.
The Vigor can be ridden from 2500 RPM in second or third, 3000RPM in 4th and 3500RPM in 5th if you are careful with the throttle. Other big singles don’t like being run below 4000RPM in any gear above 1st, the chain snatching and the engine baulking.
The more cylinders a bike has the more flexible the engine is, a four cylinder bike can be ridden in pretty much any gear at any speed and opening the throttle will generate smooth drive. At the other end of the scale are big singles, they are definitely not the easiest of bikes to ride. It’s very much a case of the rider taking care of the bike, selecting the correct gear to avoid over-revving the engine or having the chain snatch around and the bike hunt and graunch. I prefer to think of these traits as character, the Vigor engine isn't an anodyne, perfectly smooth, turbine like device. It’s a living breathing thing which communicates with the rider. If the rider learns to read the signals given out by the engine (vibration, noise, heat, torque) and react to them it makes for a massively involving experience. Just riding the bike is a pleasure in itself, it’s not necessary to have a destination in mind.
I've owned more than 200 motorcycles across all capacities and denominations, the Vigor is by no means the fastest I've had, or the best off road, but it is the best combination for me of comfort, flexibility, utility, simplicity, economy (fuel and consumables), character, involvement, and grin inducing big single goodness - but really it’s all about that engine!
Reader's Comments
Ren - The Ed said :-
Having owned and enjoyed the SLR650 myself I do understand where Bob's coming from with this review! Many thanks Bob.
www.bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=21...
17/11/2016 07:56:05 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Good read Bob, and I agree the SLR / Vigor are excellent machines.
But radial four valves unique? I think you'll find Rudge got there around 80 years ago.......
17/11/2016 10:27:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
HA! It just goes to show there's very little new stuff, just regurgitated old stuff.
Stephen Latchford was mighty impressed that my CBF125 has roller bearings on the camshaft rockers to reduce wear. I thought it was a radical new idea until I saw the remains of a downed German WW2 fighter engine. That had roller bearings on the cam followers too...
17/11/2016 11:10:31 UTC
Bob said :-
"unique" for a modern bike then?
What's the model of that Rudge?
17/11/2016 12:54:37 UTC
Bob said :-
Gilera also used the rollers-on-rockers idea on the Nordwest singles - although I think the engines were rotax based.
The thing with those rollers is to keep the valve clearances carefully checked, if they open up too much the roller bearing gets smashed about and breaks up. Still, I prefer the idea of something rolling around a cam lobe to what we normally get.
17/11/2016 12:56:54 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Dunno where my last post went - perhaps I broke the rules....
Anyway, the Rudge is either a TT Replica or Ulster from the early 30s. Not sure of the capacity but possibly 250 or 350. Looks a bit small for a 500.
Rudge Whitworth to give them their full title were a very innovative company, pioneering linked brakes amongst other things. I'm not sure if the Whitworth had anything to do with the person who first standardised screw threads.
17/11/2016 16:44:41 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I dunno where ya last post went Ian, it wasn't me! Perhaps you broke the rules of the internet by not clicking the right clicky thing...
Bob - the idea of slack tappets smashing the rollers seems viable so I'll keep an eye on that. I check the tappets on the CBF125 every 10,000 miles so I should be ok. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe. Perhaps.
17/11/2016 18:18:42 UTC
Bob said :-
Looking at the photo of the Rudge again, that secondary rocker set up is EXACTLY what honda did on their RFVC head. The only difference here is pushrod actuation as opposed to SOHC - and everything on the Honda is on the INSIDE....
17/11/2016 19:19:18 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
The problem with everything being on the inside is you can't see what condition it's in. Of course the advantage is it is covered in oil not road muck. Glass rocker cover anyone?
18/11/2016 07:07:30 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
I've seen a picture of a Ducati twin with a window into the cam gear.
Many years ago I worked with someone who'd been an apprentice at BSA and he told me about an engine they'd built with a quartz window let into the combustion chamber so they could watch the flame front to check out the effects of different plugs, ignition advance, mixture etc.
There are some good drawings of the rudge on the page below.
ps Ren why do you put the http:// bit in before the box? I always have to strip it out of the links I copy in (or maybe I don't need to?)
www.stratford-rudge.co.uk/engine.htm...
18/11/2016 10:20:57 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Not to labour the point, but this image shows detail of the rocker. The geometry looks as though it's been designed to give a pure rolling contact (like an involute gear tooth) rather than sliding. Does the Honda do something like this?
18/11/2016 10:38:57 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Ian. No...no you don't have to remove the "http://" or "https://".
18/11/2016 17:12:49 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
What strikes me about the Rudge design is there seems to be a lot of room for a lot of slack? One valve is actuated in the usual manner from the pushrod which seems sane but to then ask an intermediate rocker to actuate another rocker and valve leaves plenty of connections to cause error surely.
18/11/2016 17:19:29 UTC
Bob said :-
No, it's not that sophisticated.
The Cam follower scrapes around the cam lobe, the tappet end of the follower scrapes across the top face of the secondary follower and the bottom face of the secondary follower scrapes across the top of the valve stem.
The tip of the secondary follower is sandwiched between the tappet and the valve stem, it's (the secondary follower) only there because the primary follower pivots at the wrong angle to bear on the valve. The engine would probably work for a while if you removed the secondary followers and adjusted the tappets to bear directly on the valve.
21/11/2016 11:25:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Bob - next time you've got the rocker cover off you'll have to put some pictures up explaining because my little head can't cope. ...or you could do a piece on how the RFVC works!
21/11/2016 12:32:01 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
I'm not sure if the one in my picture is actually as original or if it is a special. It is, I believe, fitted to Mervyn Stratford's Rudge 250 which has been dyno'd at an astonishing (to me) 29 bhp at 8,250 rpm - although this was running on dope. This from an 80+-year old engine (although it is probably rather like granddad's axe).
This shows what can happen:
21/11/2016 13:43:28 UTC
Bob said :-
Ouch! That's doing it in style!
There's no coming back from that one.
21/11/2016 14:47:26 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Araldite and a bit of hammering will straighten that out.
21/11/2016 16:46:35 UTC
Tony said :-
I can certainly understand where your coming from regarding the engine having owned an NX650 for 3 years. Hopefully the image I've found will show what you're explaining. Basically it allows a larger diameter of valve to be used with a central spark plug for more efficient burning and power at lower revs. As opposed to a 'penthouse' combustion chamber with parallel valves of a smaller diameter relying on revs to gain the same power.
There is alot of metal in the cylinder head, but it's well engineered and under stressed so as long as it's lubricated there's no reason that it shouldn't last the life time of the bike.
I'd have another one tomorrow if I could get away it.
Something else going on in there that hasn't been mentioned is the automatic decompressor, located behind the cam sprocket and operates the right hand exhaust valve. That valve clearance is the most important one to get right.
I removed mine since pulling in the clutch on deceleration to select another gear the engine used to die sometimes. Upon investigation it was deeply grooved and looked like it wasn't disengaging fully.
Anyway I hope this helps.
21/11/2016 18:23:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Therein lies the problem I guess with radial valves - complexity. Thanks for the image Tony I can see how it's all put together now. As with the Rudge that Ian posted there's a lot more parts required compared to the more common parallel valve setup. While I'm sure there's some performance advantage I'm not sure there's enough to justify the extra moving parts which creates extra opportunity for wear and failure.
And yet I ran my SLR650 with RFVC up to 44,000 miles without any hiccups at all.
22/11/2016 09:16:09 UTC
Bob said :-
Thanks for the photo Tony - saves me pulling the top off one of mine!
By the way, those cam followers in the photo are dead - that's not the cam cover off your bike is it?
22/11/2016 09:35:44 UTC
Tony said :-
Your welcome Bob, no it's a picture from the thumper club. It shows the result of oil starvation after pinching the oil feed pipe on the front tube, after cleaning the oil strainer.
22/11/2016 15:37:03 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
"While I'm sure there's some performance advantage I'm not sure there's enough to justify the extra moving parts which creates extra opportunity for wear and failure."
In the case of the Rudge, of course it is essentially a racing engine so only has to hold together for six 37 3/4 mile laps.....
As it's all waving about in the breeze lubrication would be similar to my Sunbeam ie minimal going on non-existent. However, it will all be well cooled (which was of course one of the arguments against enclosure of the valve gear before modern materials). Even the later Manx Nortons of the 50s still had the hairpin valve springs exposed. They did leak oil but again, not a problem for a racer.
24/11/2016 11:50:34 UTC
Bob said :-
I think the way Honda did it is about as minimal as it can be. Afterall, we're only talking about an extra set of stubby little followers and I've never heard of them wearing out.
There is a performance advantage for sure, but in low end torque not top end power. As I said in my review, the RFVC big single feels the most "big singly" of all the big singles I've owned and ridden. Most are too grumpy at low revs, which for me defeats the purpose of buying a big single in the first place.
24/11/2016 15:36:23 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I dunno, I just like things to be as simple as possible. Give me a 2 valve single with pushrods. Hang on...that's a CG125 engine!
I know you're right Bob as I never had any problem with my SLR650.
24/11/2016 18:10:30 UTC
Bob said :-
It's a shame they never made a CG250 or 400.
Some of the Chinese manufacturers have taken their clone engines out to 200cc.
The CG is actually a very interesting engine, in that it has only a single cam lobe which rotates at a 1/4 crank speed. The followers are arranged like a pair of scissors and bear on opposite sides of the cam, which lives in the top of the crankcase and is gear driven off the crank.
This fantastically simple arrangement obviously necessitates compromises in terms of valve timing and that is probably why the engine never got any bigger (and also why the Chinese 200cc versions are no quicker).
Maybe Ian Soady will be along in a bit to tell us that AJS did the same thing in 1927!
30/11/2016 19:59:16 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I'm familiar with the cam setup on the CG125 motor but I'd never considered the performance implications Bob. It makes sense when you think about it though as both inlet and exhaust are forced to share the same amount of lift, dwell and timings. It is delightfully simple though.
I'm sure Ian will have some knowledge of a similar or possible even simpler solution! Them old bike designers, they weren't stupid were they.
30/11/2016 21:43:02 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Not AJS and not 1927 but Ariel and early 1950s.......
I don't see anything fundamentally wrong with the concept as cams in my experience are generally symmetrical, and variations in lift geometry can be handled by clever design of the followers (levers in the case of the Ariel). From what you say, this is similar for the CG125. I have to say this is a new engine to me - I had thought the only pushrod engines Honda made were some of the step-throughs and of course the CX500 with its odd "twisted" cylinder heads.
There may well have been earlier versions of the same idea.
01/12/2016 10:57:58 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
This shows an actual cam (this is the HS model which is the scrambler 500 / 350). Pretty extreme geometry. I believe this profile is called polydyne although I can't remember where I got this from.
01/12/2016 11:04:03 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
A cursory understanding from the image Ian suggest that the 1950s Ariel is a very similar in method to the CG125. And whoa! That is some serious cam profile going on in the second image. I don't know how it's put together in the engine but surely that profile knocks the hell out of the followers?
02/12/2016 09:54:15 UTC
Bob said :-
I think probably the long stroke and low RPM nature of the beast might help there?
05/12/2016 19:17:20 UTC
Bill Rutter said :-
I'm very grateful to my Honda SLR for two reasons:
1) It got me back into biking when I was going through my move (home and work) to the South Coast and
2) I ended up joining a single-cylinder bike orientated club which got me into weekends away on my bike and introducedme to some splendid people
My SLR was bought from Bob King's in Bedford and much of what has been posted here I will agree with. 110 miles to reserve and around 45mpg. The seat height wasn't too daunting then though it might be for me twenty years later.Built at the Montesa factory in Spain therefore buid quality was suspect. Chrome on the forks for example was very thin so you had to watch out for pitting.
I ended up selling it to fund a BMW F650CS which while a good concept was somewhat flawed and didn't sell very well. I think it had a 5-year production run in the end. An absolute blast to ride - like a supermoto at times and I defy anybody to say it didn't handle - but the looks divided opinion. It could have been a great idea with just a few gentle and easily done changes. Such a shame
23/07/2017 19:56:31 UTC
Bob said :-
Well after all that I've jumped ship. The upcoming ULEZ in London and northern cities clean air zones sets 1st July 2007 as the cut-off date for toll-free vehicular access and with having 6 Honda Vigors in the garage I thought I was exposed to a degree I wasn't happy with.
They've all gone now and been replaced with a pair of XT660R Yamahas. I did my research carefully. Yes the XT660 has EFI but it also has full diagnostics built into the speedo head, no need for a plug in diagnostic tool. The manual gives full specification of the operating range and fault scenario for every sensor and a truth table of which faults will or will not stop the bike. I was happy to see that very few faults on the EFI will actually cut the engine, most will just raise a fault light as the ECU acknowledges the problem sensor then uses a default value so that it can keep the bike going.
On to the engine, roller bearing cam followers! Whoopee! My number one bug-bear on 4 stroke engines, cam lobes scraping against cam followers it just seems a stupid idea. In the XT there are little rollers on the end of the rocker arms which roll around the very large diameter and smoothly ramped cam lobes. It must work as and idea because the valve clearance interval is 10000 miles, much longer than any other tappet bike engine and nearly as long as bucket and shim Yamahas.
With the ball and roller bottom end the only metal to metal sliding action in the XT engine is the piston rings - marvelous.
Oil temperature is 60C, water is 80C it's a very cool running and under-stressed power plant (the Vigor used to regularly run it's oil up to 115C).
The XT makes much more power, returns nearly 70MPG and will cruise at 80MPH. So, I did love my Vigors and owned about 12 of them but that's me done with the old bikes.
11/08/2017 10:19:31 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Oh Bob, how could you?
IIRC this is the second time you've abandoned the Honda singles.
You'll be back.......
11/08/2017 13:16:47 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Hi Bob.
Roller cam followers? Phil Irving was not a believer as the roller is constantly being accelerated / decelerated as it follows the varying linear speed of the cam. His thought was that flats would be worn on the rollers because of this.
And of course you still have sliding motion between the roller and its pivot (although I confess I haven't looked at how this is arranged on the Yam).
Modern oils will obviate this problem to some extent of course (Irving's view was that Castrol R was the only oil that would cope) but I wonder whether it's worth while.
I remember posting some pictures of what looked like an involute form for the Rudge's rockers and wonder whether some adaptation of that idea may work although can't quite see how.
13/08/2017 13:26:08 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Rollers on the cam followers Bob? If that's what floats ya boat then the CBF125 has little roller bearings on the cam end of the rocker. A computer that tells you what's up without needing a plug in computer? The CBF125 can be made to flash it's little error codes by shorting out 2 wires in the fairing. The Haynes manual also lists the codes and what they mean - as well as a table of what each sensor with cause the bike to do/not do. Roller bottom end too.
The CBF will eat your 660 on fuel economy as well as spare parts availability. The only thing the CBF can't match is power...hehe!
I really have no idea what all these new regulations are. Perhaps I should do some research.
14/08/2017 15:14:07 UTC
said :-
28/10/2017 07:56:59 UTC
Mike said :-
Very comprehensive. Great review.
17/02/2018 23:07:28 UTC
Bob said :-
I've jumped ship again!
The XT660R proved too heavy for me off road, I got stuck under one of them after attempting to spin the back end round on a gravelly climb.
So now I've got three BMW G650X Countrys
54HP 44Ftlbs 143KG - that's more like it!
Extremely compact and a bit of a cow to work on but my god they're good! So much shove pushing so little bike makes for a very fun ride. Only my mate's KTM690R can beat it, but then his KTM will explode soon and my BWM will keep (fingers crossed) ripping along..
22/03/2018 13:04:12 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
You'll be back on the Hondas before long......
22/03/2018 14:19:36 UTC
Jeroen said :-
Hi there!
Nice review Bob.
I've just bought a 2000 Vigor in mint condition, only 14.000 kilometers. Great machine, but the only thing is that the speedometer is too pessimistisch. It reads 60 km/h when I'm doing 80 km/h.
Had the speedometer gearbox replaced, but that didn't help. Any ideas?
Jeroen.
27/10/2018 19:46:30 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Jeroen. The speedo is mechanical. If you've replaced the speedometer gearbox (I guess you mean the drive mechanism at the front wheel?) the only other thing to check is the cable. It is very very unlikely but I guess it's possible the cable is broken but still somehow capable of dragging the needle round.
If you're sure it's not the cable and the drive from the front wheel then all that is left is the speedometer itself. I'm not aware that these things can be fixed although I'm happy for someone to correct me here.
29/10/2018 10:15:37 UTC
Name
Comment
Add a RELEVANT link (not required)
Upload an image (not required) -
Uploading...
Home
Bike Reviews